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A remarkable foundational document relating to the creation of the Harvard Alumni Association, written only six days before the organization was established on Commencement Day, August 26, 1840.
Boston attorney and Harvard graduate William Minot writes Justice Joseph Story concerning the proposed “association of the Alumni of H. College.” Minot reports the especially significant news that former President John Quincy Adams “has consented to be a candidate for the Presidency” of the organization.
The committee’s plan called for a president, two vice presidents, seven directors and a secretary. Minot explains that the association was intended to unite Harvard’s alumni and encourage their participation in the affairs and public exercises of the College. Because little time remained before the forthcoming meeting, the committee had prepared a proposed slate of officers.
That distinguished slate, recorded in the letter, includes former President John Quincy Adams, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, statesman and educator Edward Everett, noted scholar John Pickering, constitutional attorney Horace Binney, New York financier and congressman James G. King, federal judge and former senator Peleg Sprague, and future Supreme Court Justice Benjamin R. Curtis.
The Harvard Alumni Association was formally established on August 26, 1840, with John Quincy Adams as its first president. This letter therefore captures the organization at the precise moment of its formation and documents Adams’s acceptance of its leadership.
Minot concludes by respectfully requesting Story’s presence:
“If any changes occur to you in the list of Directors, will you have the kindness to suggest them to me.”
One large folded manuscript sheet with integral address panel, Boston postal cancellation, red “PAID” handstamp and blind-embossed stationer’s marks. Original mailing folds, creasing, marginal wear and remnants of the original paper seal; writing remains clear and legible.
An exceptional early Harvard institutional document connecting a former president of the United States, a sitting Supreme Court justice and the founding of what became the Harvard Alumni Association.
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Particularly important content
Minot informs Story that:
- A committee had prepared a plan for an association of Harvard alumni.
- Former President John Quincy Adams had consented to become a candidate for president.
- The proposed organization would include a president, two vice presidents, seven directors and a secretary.
- The organization was intended to unite Harvard alumni and encourage “public exhibition.”
- Because little time remained before the forthcoming meeting, the committee had prepared a proposed slate of officers.
The proposed names written in the letter include:
- John Quincy Adams — President
- Joseph Story
- Edward Everett — Vice President
- John Pickering
- Horace Binney
- James G. King of New York
- Peleg Sprague
- Benjamin R. Curtis, apparently proposed as secretary
- Several additional names requiring closer comparison with the association’s original records
These names are not individual signatures. They form a proposed slate written in Minot’s hand. The only certain autograph signature on the document is William Minot’s “W. Minot.”
The Harvard Alumni Association was indeed instituted in 1840, and John Quincy Adams became its first president. Its first official meeting was held in Boston on April 26, 1841, chaired by Adams and attended by a Supreme Court justice—almost certainly Joseph Story.
William Minot was a Harvard graduate of 1802 and a prominent Boston attorney. His surviving papers are held by the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Physical description and condition
One large folded sheet, manuscript on one side with integral address panel, dated Boston, August 20, 1840. Addressed to “Hon. Joseph Story, Cambridge, Mass.” Red Boston postal cancellation and “PAID” handstamp; blind-embossed stationer’s device visible in two corners.
Condition is good for an actively mailed 1840 manuscript: original mailing folds, generalized creasing, marginal wear, small edge separations and an old paper-seal remnant. Writing remains legible and the postal markings are attractive.
